Going back to History
by hereistheplaceiloveyou
Summary: Katniss and Peeta decided to read the history text books from our time. This is their reactions to different historical events they never heard of.


I rub my hand across the cover of the book. It isn't bound in leather, as I had expected but instead some sort of hard material. The pages have yellowed with time, but the book is in good shape, probably due to its binding. On the front, a map of a distant world is displayed with the words, "World History" printed onto it. It looks as if other words sat both above and below these words, but I can only make out the two as the cover of the book is rough with time.

It's a schoolbook, but not like the ones we had in the school I went to. Not like one anyone in Panem had really seen before except for officials. Now, though, it was in my hands. After everything settled down, people wanted to know what existed before. We knew there was once a place called America, but that was almost everything we knew. School textbooks from the time of America were given to those who ordered them. At first I found it odd. Why would you care about the past? It was gone. But curiosity got the better of me, and Peeta wanted to find out. I also found it odd that they would give such old books away for such a small fee instead of keeping them safe, but it turns out every child had their own individual books instead of sharing like I had once done.

The book was quite heavy. I imagined being a teenager and lugging it through the hallways of a school. I wonder if they respected the fact they were able to learn about the entire world instead of just coal. I doubt they did. People rarely respect things they should.

I stare at the map. The only maps I have seen were of Panem and the districts. There was nothing else except old lands, long gone. That wasn't the case on this map. On this map, the lands expanded forever. It's unsettling to think about how big the world is compared to what you once thought.

The landmasses are all labeled, as well as the blue areas I assume are oceans and seas.

Peeta is sitting beside me, waiting for me to open the book. It had been his idea in the first place. He wanted to know what once existed.

"Where do we start?" I ask, tracing the edges of the lands with my finger. The book is cool to the touch.

"Just open it to a random page, I guess," he offers up. I run my fingers along the pages and randomly stop, pulling the pages apart at that point. The crackling sound indicates just how long it has been since this book was opened. I try not to think of the children who once touched, read, and studied these pages.

The page is full of words, separated into sections. The font is small except for heading separating the information. The first heading states, "The Underground Railroad."

I read the words aloud, and ask, "Did they have trains underground?"

Peeta shrugs and I turn back to keep reading.

_"The Underground Railroad was the extensive network of safe houses that slaves used to travel to seek freedom, mostly in the 1850's and 60's. Escaping slaves traveled from the southern areas of the United States where they lacked freedom, to the northern states where freedom was available. The slaves would travel along this "railroad" by using the Big Dipper to guide them to the north. A common slave song to alert the escapees of the way to freedom included the words, "Follow the drinking gourd," which was another word for the big dipper. Slaves knew which houses to travel to based on signs put out. They had to be inconspicuous as to avert attention- often the sign would be a quilt on the porch with a specific design or a lantern left in a certain spot. These homes guarded, fed, and protected the slaves as they made their ways North…"_

The paragraph ends there and I let my voice drop. I'm confused. Why did the slaves feel the need to escape the south? What was better about the north? At first, I think, one area can't offer more freedom than another, but of course, that's not true. All the districts had varying amounts of freedom.

"It's a good and a bad story. It's bad because, even back then, they had slaves. I suppose it's stupid to have hoped they were all good people, but I did. I just hoped we were the only bad place. It's good, too, though. It shows there have always been good people." Peeta says. I nod.

"500 years. That was 500 years ago. They may have walked the same paths we do, trying for freedom. The same paths we walked trying for freedom. It's crazy," I comment, then add, "I feel stupid for thinking it was a train."

At that, Peeta laughs. "I thought so too. I wonder why they named it that."

"Maybe the people in America liked confusing people."

"Possibly."

I run my hands across the words once more. It's strange how one little paragraph can influence how you feel so easily.

I flip back to the beginning of the book. Even more maps are here, some focusing in on one part. I stop on the one titled, "America."

It's bigger than the map of Panem, as if the edges have been cut off, which makes sense. The coasts probably are farther in after all this time. I see their capital, which I guess is like our Capitol is situated on the opposite side of the expanse.

How does everything change so dramatically so quickly? Change is rarely slow. It hits like lightning, usually quick and full of destruction.

I glance at Peeta who gives me a smile.

It doesn't always leave destruction, I decide, giving him a kiss.

**A/N: So, I was feeling like this would be an interesting idea, Peeta and Katniss reading the history books we read today. I just asked a friend to name a random thing in history, and she said the Underground Railroad, so that's why I wrote about that. I'll probably continue this with longer chapters, but I wanted to get this idea on paper. Any historical events you want them to stumble upon? **

**Thanks for reading! **


End file.
